UPDATE - China slams 'overstretching' national security amid ban on DeepSeek in S.Korea, Australia

UPDATES WITH REACTION FROM CHINA, CHANGES IN HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Aamir Latif and Berk Kutay Gokmen

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA), ISTANBUL (AA) - China on Thursday slammed the "overstretching” national security concept amid a ban on the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot DeepSeek in South Korea and Australia.

Beijing "attaches great importance to data privacy and security and protects it in accordance with the law," Foreign Minister spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in the Chinese capital.

"We have never asked and will never ask any company or individual to collect or store data against laws," said Guo, according to a transcript of his news conference released by the ministry.

"China has all along opposed moves to overstretch the concept of national security or politicize trade and tech issues. We will firmly protect the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies."

The statement comes after South Korea Thursday imposed new restrictions on officials' use of DeepSeek over data collection concerns.

South Korea’s Environment Ministry blocked access to DeepSeek due to "multiple technical reasons."

The ministry blocked access to DeepSeek from its internet-connected PCs, though it did not take such a measure for other generative AIs, such as OpenAI and ChatGPT.

The Finance Ministry plans to follow suit.

"Due to multiple technical concerns raised about DeepSeek from home and abroad, we plan to block access for the service on PCs connected to external networks," said an official from the Finance Ministry.

The decision follows a government-wide initiative to restrict access to Chinese services to contain potential leaks of critical information through generative AI services.

It came a day after access to the service was restricted on computers at the foreign, trade, and defense ministries in South Korea.

Separately, DeepSeek has been banned from all Australian government devices and systems due to national security concerns.

Australia on Wednesday also ordered the public to delete DeepSeek from all government-issued devices, as the government implements an immediate ban.

Drawing notable attention since its release last month, DeepSeek has impressed industry experts with its high performance at a relatively low cost compared to the competing services.

However, citing concerns over its security and data management practices, many countries have imposed restrictions on the service.